Gregor: Return of the Overlander
by Tricksta
Summary: Gregor has turned 18 and is moving back to New York city to live with and help care for Miss Cormaci. Things go awry however, and Gregor soon finds himself back in the Underland.
1. Chapter 1: Goodbye

Chapter I

It was a fairly pleasant day, blue sky sprawled open over head. It was slightly humid, which was common for Virginia. Gregor looked at his family and smiled. They all looked so well. So much better than they had been just 6 years earlier, since moving here.

His dad had made an almost complete recovery from his times spent as a prisoner to giant 6 foot tall rats, and had begun teaching science again at the nearby high school. His mom had made a similar recovery, but she still tended to have coughing fits on windy or chill days. The scars from the deadly disease she had survived remained, but you had to look hard to notice them. Lizzie had grown quite a bit since their family moved. She was 14 now, and was attending the middle school just down the street from the high school were Gregor's dad worked. She was top of the class in everything, and was expected by just about everyone, including herself, to graduate from high school early, most likely as valedictorian. Of them all however, Boots had changed the most. She was 9 now, and planned on growing up and getting a job that involved animals. She was never able to pin down what job she wanted exactly, and it tended to change depending on the day you asked her. Some days it was veterinarian, some days a zookeeper, sometimes an animal rescue specialist. She had grown up spending most of her life on the farm, and couldn't remember much about New York city. And despite the abundance of them, Gregor had never once seen her injure a cockroach. She had always removed them from the house and told them to stay out. Typically they did.

The thought made Gregor smile, and he realized how much he was going to miss his family. Gregor had changed too, over the last 6 years. He had grown a lot and now stood at an impressive 5'10'', with a fit build about him. He had joined the track team in high school and excelled at the sport. After seeing the things he had, it was easy for him to push himself to run just a bit faster and just a bit farther. He had begun playing the saxophone again, but only outside of school. He liked to save the activity for when he was playing with his dad. And by some miracle he had convinced his mom to let him continue training himself to use a sword and hone his echolocation abilities. The need had mostly stemmed from a fear that if he didn't learn to control his rager tendencies more completely, he may end up accidentally killing someone with them. It was hard for him to tell if he had made any marked improvement in his sword skills as he had never fought against anyone since moving, but his rager abilities had been mastered a few years ago. He had even gained extra awareness of his surroundings from his new mastery over the ability, which when paired with his echolocation, made him keenly aware of everything going on around him, no matter where he was.

Gregor's reminiscing on the past few years and everything that had happened were cut off suddenly, when Boots hugged him in a way that almost felt more like a tackle. Recovering from the unexpected force of the hug, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. So much for always knowing what was going on around him, he thought mockingly of himself.

"Gregor I don't want you to leave" Boots said in a muffled voice, her head being buried in Gregor's coat.

"It won't be that bad boot's. I'm only a short drive away. Really it could be worse."

"But you still won't be here" Lizzie chimed in. "Now all the chores you took care of are gonna be on my plate" she said in a sarcastic voice. Gregor couldn't help but smile at the comment.

"That will just help to get you out of those books you constantly have your nose in. Honestly Liz, I don't know how your head hasn't blown up to the size of a beach ball yet." Lizzie gave him a glare but couldn't help to smile despite it. Coming over to him she gave him a hug along with Boots, who had now started to sniffle against Gregor's shirt.

"I'm going to miss you Gregor." Liz said

"I'm going to miss you too, Liz" Gregor replied, suddenly getting a catch in his throat. Lizzie and Boots peeled away for a moment, and Gregor's parents stepped closer.

"We're so proud of you son" said Gregor's dad.

"And we're going to miss having you around all the time" his mom said, tears already forming at the corners of her eyes.

"I'll miss you guys too" Gregor replied, embracing them both. Lizzie and Boots joined in the embrace, and they all shared in a family hug before saying their final goodbyes. His dad cracked a couple of jokes, and his mom reminded him of all the things he needed to do once he got there for the 50th time. Finally, Gregor climbed into the used car his parents had bought him for his sixteenth birthday. He had all of his things packed inside. His clothes, some decorations he had in his room, his saxophone, and his practice sword. He doubted he would have much time to continue practicing with it, but he brought it along just in case he somehow found the time. He was heading back to New York city, where he would live with Mrs. Cormaci, who had recently fallen ill, and take care of her while working a part time job to help pay rent. Starting up the engine, Gregor drove up the dirt road connecting the farm where his family had lived for the last six years to a county road that would eventually take him to New York. He saw his family waving at him in the rear-view mirror, and then took a turn and they were gone.


	2. Chapter 2: Home Again

Chapter 2

The drive back to New York wasn't far, but it took time. Traffic was always prevalent on the highways along the Eastern Seaboard. Gregor didn't really mind however, it gave him time to listen to music, think about his future in New York, and cope with the bitter reality that he was now leaving his family. The three methods of passing the time cycled back and around to each other over and over again, with the thoughts of his future life back in his hometown steadily growing as he neared his destination. By the time he had finally arrived in new york and began working his way to his old building, he was nearly ready to jump through the windshield and run the rest of the way, ignoring the horrendously slow traffic. The slow pace was a blessing in disguise however, the constant stops made sure Gregor was able to reacquaint himself with his city. The unique sights, sounds, and smells of New York were stranger than he remembered, almost harsher. He assumed it must be in part to his heightened rager senses.

Eventually, Gregor made it back to his old building. Finding a spot to park the car nearby, he unloaded some of his lighter luggage and headed for the buildings entrance. Walking into the buildings lobby was less climactic than he thought it would be. He expected a great wave of nostalgia to wash over him when he saw what was essentially the entrance hall to his house, but instead all he was greeted with was the same dirty, and slightly cramped lobby. Shrugging off the minor disappointment, he started to make for the stairwell. Just as he was halfway through the stairwell entrance, he noticed that there was no out of order sign on the elevator. Figuring he would try it out just for small chance it might be operational, he was surprised to see the doors open as soon as he pressed the up button.

"Huh" Gregor said out loud in slight astonishment. While he had been expecting strong feelings of nostalgia from the lobby, he supposed minor feelings of surprise and satisfaction would do just as well.

Knocking on the door to Mrs. Cormaci's apartment Gregor could barely hold back an excited smile. As soon as the door opened, Gregor was blasted with a heavenly aroma of banana bread, and a slight hint of chocolate.

"Gregor!" shouted Mrs. Cormacaci "it's been to long! You guys never came back to visit."

"I know, sorry. My mom wanted us to never come back here for any reason. She doesn't want us to get roped up in the Underland again." Gregor said with a genuine look of apology on his face. He had missed Mrs. Cormaci. And her stellar cooking.

"Then why on earth would she let you move back here with me?" Mrs. Cormaci retorted quickly. "Ah well, nevermind that. Come in, come in! How was the trip?"

"Good enough I suppose. I made decent time" said Gregor.

"That's Good. did you bring up all your things?" Asked Mrs. Cormaci.

"Oh no, I didn't have enough hands to carry it all in one trip."

"Alright, well go bring the last of it up. The banana bread should be done cooling by then."

After retrieving the last of his things from the car, Gregor was given a slice of banana bread with chocolate chips inside, and a glass of milk. After he finished the snack while catching up with Mrs. Cormaci, she gave him a tour of his room and bathroom. While they were in the bathroom, Gregor saw Mrs. Cormaci's face turn frightened for a moment, and then resume it former brightness. Turning to glance at the corner of the bathroom she had been looking at, Gregor saw a flash of movement. He tried identifying what the unknown creature was with his echolocation, but it was already gone. He tried to press Mrs. Cormaci on what she had seen, but she denied having seen anything, and became defensive when he pressed further. Not wanting to upset her on the first day of his moving in with her, he quickly dropped the subject.

That night however, Gregor couldn't help but feel like he was being watched. It wouldn't surprise him. In fact he had expected it. He wondered who in the Underland knew already of his presence here with Mrs. Cormaci. Did Luxa? Ripred? Vikus? The thought made him a bit more comfortable with the suspected creeping. Eventually Gregor fell asleep, and dreamt he was falling.

The next morning, Gregor awoke in a cold sweat. He wasn't panicking, or even worried really. He could remember exactly what he had dreamed about. He had been falling down a large shaft. There was no end in sight, and he had called out to Ares. After what seemed like hours of falling and heedless screaming, he had heard a voice. Ares' voice.

"Worry not overlander. I have died, as have you in a way." turning toward the voice, Gregor found Ares lifeless corpse falling next to him, his throat torn and spewing blood, his face contorted in an expression of agonizing pain.

"My purpose in this world has finished, and I rest in peace. You however, linger between life and death. You fulfilled your role in the prophecy by killing the warrior, but still you live. The time is at hand Gregor. The Underland hangs in the balance. The revenant has come." it was right then that the ground rushed up suddenly, and right at the moment of impact, Gregor awoke.

Wiping the sweat from his face, Gregor realized his body was slightly shaking. He couldn't tell why, for some odd reason he wasn't scared, and he didn't seem to be in shock. It was an odd sensation. Almost like he had a weak, but noticeable, electrical current passing through his body. Gregor stood up out of bed and began getting dressed. He decided it might be best for him to go for a jog. It would help clear his head, let him think on the dream he'd just had, and hopefully give him some leads on a job. Grabbing his phone and earbuds, he started a playlist he had tailored specifically for his morning jogs and head out the door. Right before he locked the door to the apartment, he made sure to go inside and write a note to let Mrs. Cormaci know where he was.

The cool morning air was wonderful as it rushed by his face. He wasn't running at to extreme of a pace, just hard enough to get a decent sweat going, and maintain a steady rhythm. He saw several places with job openings, mostly part time work that wouldn't suit his needs. After being gone for 30 minutes, Gregor decided it was time to head back. He decided to cut through central park instead of going around this time. He wanted to get back quickly in case Mrs. Cormaci needed his help. She hadn't been to clear on what the symptoms of her illness was, just that it required her to need help on certain occasions that she didn't decide. Cutting across the grass, ignoring the premade trails, Gregor was making excellent time. Then out of the corner of his eye he saw it. The slab of stone blocking an entrance to the Underland. As far as Gregor could remember, it was the only real entrance to the Underland since his mom had sealed of the grate in the laundry room of his building. Gregor's dream came back to his memory. Ares' pained expression, and his torn throat, were most prominent in his mind's focus. Shaking off the thought he started to head for home again. He had come to New York because Mrs. Cormaci needed him, and because he had always loved living here, but he had no idea just how much he would be remembered of the Underland. It seemed like every other thought was of Regalia, or Luxa, or Ripred, or any other of the fantastical people and places he had encountered there. Without realizing it, Gregor was suddenly at the door to the apartment. Unlocking the door and stepping inside, he saw Mrs. Cormaci sitting at the dining room table, with a letter rested in front of her. Her hands covered her mouth and she seemed to be staring off to nowhere in particular.

"Mrs. Cormaci, are you ok?" asked Gregor, wondering if this might be the strange illness afflicting the woman.

"Gregor… we need to talk. About the Underland. It seems they have summoned you"

*QUICK AUTHORS NOTES*

Hey everyone, it's me the author. Just wanted to remind you that if you are liking the story so far please leave a review. If it's positive feedback, awesome that stuff makes me want to write even more. If it's constructive criticism, even better. I want this story to be as good as possible. Speaking of which, I am terrible at grammar. If you guys see any obvious goofs then please let me know by a PM. also, if there are any of you wanting to proofread for me than please just let me know, I would be more than willing to send you a copy of the story for you to check for proper grammar and spelling, as well as keeping continuity. Thanks all for reading and I hope your enjoying it, I know I am.


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